The Blood's Elegance

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

SPRING IS TIME FOR FRIENDSHIP

Waves of people in their red uniform mixed with the colorful attire worn by the visitors. The hand was near to strike twelve in a big clock from a distance; the place gets crowded and crowded. We walked out of the campus and crossed the road to the other. Two students were at the gate, greeting people, and as we stopped near them, they shouted a greeting which we returned, too. After what James said earlier, I hadn't said a word to him. He wasn't talking to Seth, too, but, boy, he was cheerful—with a big smile showing his teeth and dimples—upon having a short conversation with what I call as a kid because I am older than her, asking for recommendations about where to start.

“Every two hours from eight in the morning, we conduct a horseback riding. It is a symbolism for freedom, an act of freeing oneself from the binds. It also means power, and we consider it as the sport of the rich people to show their tradition,” the student with pigtails explained. Like James, she had dimples on both cheeks, and her imperfect teeth made her smile looked perfect. She had freckles that were highlighted by the sunlight. “It is on the east wing of the campus.”

The other student, who was a boy had his full attention on her as if we are not here as their visitors. His face, though, was stoic and did not show any changes, but his ears were red. The girl noticed him, and he averted his gaze from her and found mine.

I smiled, a smile which intends to tease him and also intends to express my happiness for a love that is starting to bloom in his heart, causing him to eye me with an obvious frown.

Every two hours? It's twelve. We couldn't be there in a short time.

Seth brought down my hand with the wristwatch that I used to check the time. “We'll go there by four.”

“Really?” I exclaimed. “Thank you.”

Oh, this man, who notices my little reactions to things, just made my heart flutter. How could he be so attentive? One moment, he was paying attention to something, then he was already thinking of a plan of how he could satisfy me. How dare he?

“You're always welcome,” he said. He turned to the students. “Can we register in the horseback riding now?”

“What time do you plan to go?”

“Four?”

The girl checked the time. “I am not quite sure if there are any slots left. Let me ask them. Give me a second.”

She excused herself from us. The boy was left, but his eyes were still after her back as she does her business. It only took her a minute before she returned with a grin. “I have a good news.”

“What is it?” the three of us ask in unison.

“There are slots, and I reserved for three people. If they asked you for the code, just say ‘black and yellow teeth.’”

“You are great!” I hugged her, and, goodness, the sisterly loved poured out of me. I always loved hugging children because, with that, I feel that I have siblings… that I am not alone.

“Uh…” James caught our attention. “I won’t be joining them.”

Every head turned to him and asked, “Why?”

“’Got to enjoy my life without this couple.”

We laughed at that.

“Yeah, I know how hard it is to be the third wheel,” the girl uttered. She glanced at Seth and me. “By the way, you are lucky that you talked to me about that. I managed to help you with your schedule.”

“We’re really grateful for that.”

I realized that we have caught up too much of their time. They greeted the people behind us and answered all their questions. When the girl’s eyes met mine, I halted her.

“Sorry for taking too much of your time,” I apologized. “We will go now. Thank you for your help.”

“It’s nice meeting you.” She nudged her company.

“Enjoy your day,” the boy said quickly.

After that, we already went ahead. The difference between this campus and the other one on the opposite road was that this was three times larger, and the only things that were occupying the field were running horses.

“Isn’t this dangerous?” I asked.

Seth wandered his eyes and stopped it at me. “There were accidents before but no serious injuries, and they’ve been upholding to this tradition for decades.”

“Where are the booths?”

“They are in the classrooms, and you will definitely be amazed how the students could come up with a lot of ideas of what they are going to. It’s just sad that we have to park on the other campus.”

“It’s okay though because we got to see other booths, and the other campus was livelier than here, and we’ve got to have this.” I raised my arm with the tattoo. “I bet they do not have that here.”

“You just think that it’s lively here because first of all, the fun is inside the building. Second, the party here starts at night.”

James told us that he would go around and might search some of our company, separating himself from us.

“You do not think that he dislike me because of this tattoo, do you?”

He shook his head. “No, that is too shallow for a reason. He needs to be open or understanding and respect other people’s decisions in life. If he dislikes you just because of a tattoo, then he needs to learn. Besides, it is really a bad idea to hang out with a couple.” He pulled me closer and kissed my forehead, making me close my eyes because of his sudden action. “He’s jealous because he does not have anyone to kiss like this.” And then, he planted another kiss, but this time, on the top of my head.

We walked on the very first entrance of the building that we saw; foils, paper crepes, and other designs were cut into pieces and hanged, giving life to the white wall. It had a painting of men and women riding horses in their long gowns and masks.

“Excuse me,” the lady said.

I pulled Seth to step aside. People passed us and went in different directions; the hallway was fed of their noises as they mingle with one another. No student did not greet us and told us to enjoy their day. I could tell that they were tired of entertaining the guests, but they kept their smiles and cool in the afternoon. Seth and I visited every booth from the first floor to the third floor, filling our stomachs with food and wasting our energy. We also tried the karaoke booth. Since it could only be rented by at least four people, we befriended the other group of people and joined them inside. They were nice, and they were from a different place from us. We occupied the cushions. I sat between Seth and another guy. We told the students that we were ready to start; they turned off the light and opened the mirrorball, and the party began.

They were very active that I kind of felt out of place and realized that I am because I don’t belong to their group. Seth was also quiet and just held my hand until the students served us some refreshments and foods that were part of what we paid.

In the corner of my eyes, as Seth picked up a snack from the tray on the table, the woman moved closer to him. “What brought you here?” She bit her lip and placed her palm on his lap. “This is actually my hometown, so I brought my friends here to experience this.”

Seth removed her hand and answered, “I’ve been here before, so I also brought my friends and also my girlfriend to see their rich history.”

I snatched my hand away from him; he was surprised. I grabbed the snack from his hand and opened it because he didn’t seem to have a plan to eat. I put it in between my legs and fished for my phone. I dug my hand on the snack and took pieces to eat as I unlock my phone. I looked at Seth. “You want?”

He opened his mouth. I fed him as I open my social media account to search for the account of the girls. This was a dumb idea.

I found Leslie’s account. I messaged her, asking for their location, but she had not seen it yet. I added a message: We are at the karaoke booth on the third floor.

I turned to Seth. “What’s the name of this building?”

“Main building.”

“Room number?”

“307.”

I texted the details and sent them to Leslie. I hoped she was with the others. After I saw that I already sent the message, I lied my back on the couch, crossed my arms, and stared at the two girls singing. They were out of tune, but I did not comment on anything. Good thing, there was an instrumental version that helped their voice. One of them saw em eyeing them.

“I would catch everything I could for you~” she sang as she went nearer to us… to me. “Give the moon and all the stars to you, baby~” She grasped my other hand and pulled me to stand up. “Come on! Sing with us!”

I repeatedly shook my head and smiled awkwardly. “No, I reserved a song for later.”

“Come on, how can we get to know each other if you are shy?” the other girl interrupted. “We want to hear you sing a song. Right, guys?”

Their friends seconded, and without even looking at Seth to know his reaction, I accepted the microphone and continued the chorus. When the song ended, I hurried back to our seats. The girl earlier, who was wearing hoop earrings and a short skirt and low v-neckline, put her leg on the other and deliberately caressed Seth’s leg. She encircled her arm around his neck, but I snatched it away from him and faked a smile.

I slammed her hand on her leg and sat in between Seth and her. “Her girlfriend is right over here.”

“Zia, behave,” her friend reminded, but she only rolled her eyes. “The man is already committed to someone.”

“Who cares? Others can get couples divorced. It won’t be too hard to separate them.”

“That’s it.” I raised my head as Seth stands up and glared at the b***h.

I also rose. We both thanked their friend who allowed us to be with them and apologized for leaving early although we had nothing to apologize for because, first of all, it was someone from their party who offended us. Secondly, we paid half of the expense even though they are four times our number.

My hand was on the handle of the door when I caught sight of the members of our group coming together towards our direction, and they had James walking behind them with Troy. My lips curved into a big, boastful smile. I appreciated having them as a company rather than the group with a b***h inside this room. We decided to rest on the rooftop for a while before I invited them again to go to the karaoke room, and they all agreed. This time, I didn’t feel any awkwardness or threat that someone will flirt with the person I like except, of course, Ayuna. She was born with that character, and I admitted that she is better because, at least, I know that she does not intend to take away Seth unlike the girl earlier who was willing to ruin a relationship even though he already emphasized that he was committed to me―which is a lie, but, whatever, the girl was still shameless. Why were there people who like a boy or girl who is already in a relationship? And some were even proud that they can ruin the lives of others. I just couldn’t understand their mindset. Did they not care about others? Where was the humanity within them?

We rented the karaoke booth for an hour, and it ended exactly thirty minutes before the horseback riding. Turned out, I learned that everyone agreed, when we were not together yet, to do the race by four which meant that all of us would join the horseback riding race.

“Have you guys reserved your slots?” Leslie asked.

“Yes, one of the students booked for three”―I glanced at James―“but he said that he does not want to go.”

“Why?” they asked.

“Come on, James,” Drake urged him. “Why won’t you?”

“Because earlier, I was stuck with this couple, and I thought that I would be a third wheel if I join, so…” He shrugged. “Now that I knew all of us would be there, what’s the reason to refuse? The cute lady made an effort of reserving us slots.”

My head quickly turned in his direction. “Cute lady? Dude, that was a kid, so don’t you dare hit on her.”

He frowned at me. “I am clearly aware that she is young and off-limits from me.”

“Nice.” I nodded. “Good to know that you understand.”

He pointed me with his forefinger and squinted eyes. “You’ve been accusing me since earlier.”

“Why wouldn’t I? The way that you stare at them was different. And you don’t have a girlfriend nor boyfriend, so…”

“So you think that I am a pedophile?”

“I did not say that.”

“That’s what you are trying to say.”

Mary interrupted us. “Guys, chill.”

Seth pulled me farther from James.

“Guys, we are in public. Keep your cool,” Ayuna reminded.

“If Seah did not open it up, I would think the same,” Drake commented which was seconded by Frank. Their girlfriends glared at them. “We can’t help it because we don’t know who he likes. I mean, whether it was a girl or boy, we would still accept him. The, I saw how he looks and acts differently when there is a kid, especially a girl. He would be quiet when he sees someone, but when the girl was out of sight, that is when he speaks.”

“Goodness gracious, what is this?” James freaked out hearing those. Now, he had his attention on his friends. “Not because I do not tell you that I like someone means that I am a pedophile or even a teleiophile if you would go that far. I enjoyed living without the pressure that I had to like or being in a relationship with someone, and then I would find out that you, guys, think of me so lowly?”

“James…” I uttered.

He glared at me; I shut my mouth.

“Let’s go the stables first. James, Seah, Drake, and Frank, reflect on your words and actions,” Gabriel commanded with his blank face. He did not usually speak, and with that, he managed to control the situation. I guessed his friends were scared of him, too.

I saw Ayuna looked at me before turning around to walk with him. I remained beside Seth although I was very ashamed that I offended his friend. I wished he would not talk to me yet until I figure out how to apologize to James. We were not very close―which is kind of good news because if we were, that would hurt him more.

I couldn’t bear containing the questions in my head that I asked Seth as we go downstairs of the building. “Should I say sorry to him now?”

He shook his head. “Let him cool his head with the race first. Besides, he wasn’t much offended in your words because both of you were obviously joking at first not until Drake and Frank butt in. They were his friends since middle school.”

“What about you? Are you mad at me?”

“I was kind of disappointed. It might be joke, but jokes are half-meant.. I thought it was too shallow to conclude with those observations. It was joke, but it was offensive.”

I sighed heavily. “I’m sorry.”

“You need to be careful of others’ feelings. Always mind your attitude. You might not notice, you are already hurting someone for being self-centered.”

I fell quiet. It pained me that he was lecturing me because of that as if it was my fault, but it was because of me that Drake and Frank said their thoughts that offended James. Before, when I was in high school, harsh words were normal for me. Criticizing others was a hobby of mine. I lived with the negative characteristics, not caring about others, and only cared about my satisfaction whenever I hurt someone’s feelings or I successfully ashamed a person. That was the influence of my friends in grade school until the first years of my high school life, but everything changed when they backstabbed me, and I had to cut our friendship. That was when Rose and Andi came, and the latter, who stood as a mother, always scolds me whenever I was being mean to anyone. It was hard to remove the attitude that you grew up with, but I tried my very best to change not to make them accept me or become like them who are friendly and kind, but because I realized the importance of kindness. It was their kindness that helped me to become a better person… and speaking of Andi, is she in Seth’s body?

#